


On This Blue Night

by jjongbluemoon



Series: the "what if" series [1]
Category: SHINee
Genre: F/M, M/M, Slow Burn, blue night au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-03-17 08:45:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13655529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjongbluemoon/pseuds/jjongbluemoon
Summary: Kim Jonghyun had been a certified bachelor for nearly five years running, too immersed in his radio work to venture beyond what he deemed as a comfortable life. However, when he ends up going on a blind date with Jinki's old college friend, Kibum, after a bet goes wrong, he begins to learn that there's a lot more to life than Blue Night and school work.or "what if jonghyun and jinki create a bet based on taemin's appearance on blue night and if jonghyun loses he has to go on a date with kibum?"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i've been a shinee fan for about five years and i've only just started venturing into the world of fanfiction for the fandom. i'm using this series as a coping mechanism for my own depression and grief over jonghyun, so if reading about him is too much for you, please do not force yourself to. However, if you are like me and you find that reading/writing about him helps, then i hope you enjoy this story. updates will be frequent.
> 
> i won't be posting any other author's notes after this so if you have any questions, just leave them in the comments - i promise i reply to every single one.
> 
> also, don't be afraid to let me know what you think of the fanfic, but please be kind in your criticisms.
> 
> This is the first part in a small series i'm calling the "what if" series or, in my head "the blue night au". 
> 
> Thank you if you decide to continue reading! I hope you enjoy :)

Kim Jonghyun watched as the snow fell delicately from his studio window. The world outside had been tinted in navy blue wash and the snow that descended reflected off the dull, yellow street lights, whilst the DJ was stuck inside a well-lit room, surrounded by a group of people, all going over the procedure and schedule before he was due to go live.

As per usual, he found himself lost amongst the din of voices around him and instead focused on the window that housed him away from the winter world he wanted to immerse. He only vaguely registered that he was being spoken to when a hand came out to wave in front of his face.

He blinked up at the PD, Kang Seulgi, looking at him with a bewildered but charming smile.

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” Jonghyun asked, smiling sheepishly. Seulgi rolled her eyes but her smile only brightened. A day rarely passed by where Seulgi wasn’t smiling about something, be it as trivial as a good cup of coffee or hitting all the green lights as she drove into work.

“I said that because this is a special end-of-year show, I thought we would do a round-up of the best songs of the year. And take some holiday requests, as well.”

Holiday requests meant messages from people overseas or in the military who weren’t able to visit family on Christmas day or New Years.  Jonghyun never cared much for them, especially since they were all usually couple related and as a professional bachelor for the fifth year running, the idea of romance made him uncomfortable. He was able to ignore his loneliness when with his single friends, or by himself; but when confronted by the ideal of a relationship, it only made that thud and that twist in his chest all the more harder to avoid.

“Alright,” he simply said, nodding his confirmation to Seulgi. She grinned at him before ticking a few things off of her clipboard.

“We’ll be live in five minutes!” She then barked out, making her way from Jonghyun to the sound engineers who were checking over the mics and sound board. One of them, Jonghyun’s long-time friend Lee Jinki, jumped backwards when he felt Seulgi’s presence behind him and nearly spilt the coffee her assistant, Joy, had been bringing to her. Jonghyun watched with an amused smirk as Jinki bowed over and over again in apology to both Joy and Seulgi, who both waved it off with kind smiles. As the two women walked away, Jinki scratched his head, in embarrassment, before turning around. His eyes landed on Jonghyun, who had been watching him intently, and he flashed him a large grin.

“I hear you might have Taemin on after the break,” Jinki then said, leaning up against one of Jonghyun’s monitors. It shifted under his weight and he began to lose his balance, but straightened both himself and the monitor flawlessly. Jonghyun almost applauded him.

“Yeah, that’s what I heard too,” Jonghyun said, shuffling through his papers absent-mindedly. “I wouldn’t be surprised, he made his massive debut as a solo artist and his song’s been at the top for almost 20 weeks.”

“It’s a good song,” Jinki replied. He then pushed himself from the table to mimic the signature airplane move in Taemin’s music video. Jonghyun snorted out a laugh before a loud beeping in his headphones alerted to the fact that he only had 60 seconds left until going live. Jinki took his leave, waving at his friend before taking his place in the sound booth, watching over the live show.

With a deep breath, Jonghyun closed his eyes and counted down from three before opening them and smiling into the microphone.

“Hello and welcome to Blue Night, thank you for sharing this space with me today. My name is Jonghyun and I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas on this special day.” He flipped through some of his papers again as his intro song began to play, chiming happily through his headphones. He began to mouth along to the lyrics he’d composed in a single sitting, a spur of a moment choice when Seulgi had mentioned that a song or a jingle would bring the ratings up – she had been right.

“Today we’ve decided to do something different,” Jonghyun said into the mic, pretending that the audience he loved so much was sitting with him right now rather, smiling at him as they hung onto every word. “But first, let’s talk about the snow. I’ve been watching the snow all evening and I think it’s the prettiest right now, when it’s late and there are no cars around… and it settles on the ground. I always feel the warmest when it snows because I like to wear sweaters a lot and there’s just something so comforting about the weather.” He licked his lips and sighed. “Snow, in my opinion, is more poetic than rainfall, and I like rainy days too… but there’s something about snow, about how it only occurs when it’s the perfect temperature and how pristine and clean it looks untouched.”

He looked up to the sound booth to see Seulgi giving him a thumbs-up. “But, as we watch this peaceful snow, perhaps we shall play a song fit for this weather. Here’s Wendy-ssi with _Wish Tree_.”

As the opening notes began to fill his ears, Jonghyun pushed himself away from the desk and watched as the snow began to fall a little heavier than before – big, fat flakes kiss his window before melting away. He sighed wistfully and closed his eyes, pretending he was stood outside in the snow, catching each flake in his gloved palms. He’d love snow ever since he was a kid, when his mother would always overdo it with a padded winter coat, thick scarf, his sister’s old beanie that was too big to fit his small head, and mittens smothering his little hands. All it had taken was for the first snowflake to peck his red, runny nose, and from that moment, he’d been entranced.

Even now, at twenty-five with a job, the snow left him feeling whimsical and enchanted.

Wendy’s last night note brought him back to the real world and he pulled himself back to the desk, humming along with the last few notes.

“Wendy-ssi has such a beautiful voice, don’t you think? It’s hard to imagine she only debuted last year…” Jonghyun took a deep breath. “As we’re reaching a special time of the year, a time we like to spend with loved ones, it’s hard for us to imagine a time without them. Here on Blue Night, we are taking today as a chance for people who are away from their loved ones to send messages of love and hope.” He looked up to the sound booth and Seulgi made a hand gesture that he was receiving a phone call. “It seems like we’ve already received one.” He reached across to the soundboard and put through the call. “Hello, you’re live on air with Jonghyun.”

“Yes, hi, hello,” a voice crackles through. It sounded distressed, breathless, and masculine. “I’d like to send a message to my boyfriend in the army. Jino, if you’re listening, I know about your secret girlfriend! I hope you enjoy Christmas alone from now on, you bastard!”

Jonghyun blinked wildly, unsure as to what had just occurred. Seulgi’s face was a picture perfect vision of confusion and anger - this was one of the rare occasions where she lost her smile. As he watched her, waiting for a signal to do anything, he realised that the line hadn’t ended and the stranger on the other line was still on the air.

“No, let me go, Woohyun!” The caller yelled. “I’m doing this for me, for once; I’m doing this for me!”

Jonghyun was speechless. “Um…” He licked his lips nervously and began to tug at the sleeve of his sweater. “Hello?”

The other line went silent for a long moment. “Hello?” He heard the voice say. “This is Blue Night?”

“Yes, you are live on air…” Jonghyun had been thrown off from his routine and, like a song stuck on repeat, decided to start over as if nothing had happened.

The other line coughed. “I think I’ve said all I need to say,” the voice said. “My name’s Key.”

“Hello, Key-ssi. Jino is your boyfriend?”

“He’s a cheating scumbag! He’s no boyfriend of mine!” Key took a deep breath. “You hear that Jino? When you get back from the army, your stuff will be on the streets. Don’t you dare come back to me!”

“Key-ssi-“

“I’m sorry; I have to go now, Jonghyun-ssi. Have a good Christmas.”

And then the line went dead and Jonghyun looked over to the sound booth. Seulgi made a panicked gesture and Jonghyun nodded.

“Please enjoy Taemin’s _Danger_ , we shall return to our holiday requests after this song.”

The song began to play and Jonghyun exhaled deeply, but he couldn’t fight the smile creeping onto his lips. Whilst Key’s call had been unconventional to say the least, it provided a small piece of entertainment to Jonghyun. He felt a pang of sympathy for the anonymous caller, but he couldn’t help but feel elated to know that someone else would be spending Christmas as a certified bachelor.

* * *

The show always finished late into the night, around 2am, and usually Jonghyun would avoid a group outing to the nearest bar for a round of beers and soju to go home and write poetry in his secret notebook, but this time he found himself tagging along.

Jinki had his arm wrapped around Jonghyun’s shoulder, pulling him close, as the cold air hit their warm faces, biting at their skin. Jonghyun pulled his turtleneck up a little higher over his chin, dipping his head down and away from the wind.

“I swear to God, I’m never letting anyone take live calls anymore,” Seulgi gritted her teeth. “That was a giant mess.”

“In all fairness,” Jonghyun said, voice directed to the ground as he looked up through long lashes. “After Key, everything else went smoothly.”

Seulgi paused to think for a moment. “You are right, but it takes one to ruin the lot. That Key… I never want to hear his voice on my show ever again!”

Jinki grinned and pulled away from Jonghyun. “Did I hear you right? Soju shots are on you?”

The entire crew began to jeer.

“No! I never said-!” Seulgi’s fight was lost in the whirlwind of snow as the sound engineers, and Joy, began to run down to the bar, cheering for their boss. “Oh, what the hell,” she said with a bright smile. “It _is_ Christmas after all.”

Jonghyun watched as she ran to catch up to them, leaving him to trail behind. He didn’t mind the moment of solitude, watching as the snow continued to fall, blossoming against the ground into a riverbed of white. He stopped under a streetlight and watched as the snow trickled down. In a moment of curiosity, he opened his mouth and allowed a flake to float onto his tongue where it melted into nothingness.

“Jonghyun!” A voice called over to him and Jonghyun looked down, away from the endless darkness above him. Jinki was watching him with an amused grin. “You coming or not?”

Jonghyun returned the smile, not letting it reach his eyes. “Sure, I’m coming.” He walked quickly over to his friend and allowed himself to be pulled into a one-armed hug.

“You sure do love snow, huh?”

Jonghyun hid his reddened cheeks. It wasn’t just snow he loved, he loved everything about winter, but there was something magical about the dark sea of navy in the sky and the endless flurry that seemed to tumble from nowhere. He made a mental note to write about the snow in his poetry book, but for now, he was content sitting between Jinki and Joy and enjoying a couple of beers with his co-workers.

When Key was brought up again, Jonghyun tried to hide his smile behind his pint glass. As Seulgi grumbled, tipsily, about him, cursing his New Year, Jonghyun silently hoped he would call again, just break the monotony once more.


	2. Chapter 2

It took the pale light of a crisp winter morning pouring through his opened window to wake Jonghyun up completely. He’d lost track of how much he had to drink after the second beer and he was certain that Jinki had been the guy to shove two shots of Soju into his face immediately after. His memory blacked out after that and all he could remember from that point on was the tweeting of birds, the mechanical sound of cars outside, and the monotonous vibration of his phone by his head.

His head pounded and his eyes burned when he blinked, but Jonghyun slowly and groggily propped himself up onto his elbows to fish for his phone amongst the tangled bedsheets. He blinked at the name on his phone a few times before a wave of nausea surged through him.

He swallowed thickly, pausing to see if he was actually going to go through with throwing up on his bed, before deciding it was a false alarm and answered his phone.

“Hello?”

“Ah, good morning, my shining star!” Minho greeted on the other end with an unconcealed chuckle. Jonghyun groaned into the receiver as he collapsed into his pillow. “Ah, not such a good morning to you, I guess?”

“I stayed out till late drinking… at least, I think I did… I don’t remember much.”

Minho laughed, throaty and unforgiving to Jonghyun’s throbbing headache. “I’m glad actually; I was worried you’d spent last night alone.”

Jonghyun mumbled something into his pillow that Minho couldn’t catch.

“Say that again, hyung.”

“I said: you don’t have to worry about me.” He could hear the smile on Minho’s end from the intake of air.

“That’s what you always say but it won’t stop me from caring. Anyway, I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas because I’m going to be out of the country until after New Year’s.”

“What? Why?”

“Ah, just the usual… The wife wants to visit her family in France and I thought it’d make a nice change to experience Christmas in another country. Why? Are you going to miss me, hyung?”

Jonghyun’s too hungover to care about any filter. “Yeah. You’re my best friend, you giant idiot.”

“I’m glad you think so highly of me. Anyway, have a good holiday, hyung, take care of yourself.”

“You too, Minho,” Jonghyun grumbled into the pillow and both ends went quiet before Minho hung up and Jonghyun’s left with a silent phone pressed to his ear. He contemplated between the choices of getting up and proceeding through his day like a regular human, or staying in bed until night fell and then staying in until the next dawn.

He was content on staying in bed before his stomach grumbled in desperation, and a flash of pain ripped through his head. Sure, he could just stay in bed and starve and dehydrate like a sheet of seaweed but a cool glass of water felt like the most tantalising thing right now.

Despite his better judgements, Jonghyun climbed out of bed and shoved his feet into his plush slippers before shuffling along, through his bedroom into the hallway and to the kitchen. He passed by Jinki’s sleeping lump on his sofa as he entered his kitchen and ran a tap as he grabbed a glass.

A moan startled Jonghyun and he let out an operatic scream in surprise, almost dropping the glass onto the floor. Shakily, he stepped out of the alcove where his sitting room lined with his kitchen.

“Oh, Jinki-hyung, it’s just you,” Jonghyun said, pressing his free hand into his chest to calm his racing heartbeat. “Wait… what are you doing here?”

Jinki responded with a series of groans and moans, and he looked a lot worse for wear than Jonghyun felt. His brunet hair was stuck up in all directions and his small eyes were barely open. His lips were dry and cracked and his clothes from the night before were rumbled from sleeping on Jonghyun’s sofa.

“Do you want a drink?”

“Uh huh,” Jinki replied, nodding very slowly.

Jonghyun offered Jinki his best smile, despite his internal conflict of a hangover, and turned back to the sink. He filled up the glass he held with water and took it out to Jinki. He accepted the glass with two hands and gulped the water down noisily, barely taking time to breathe.

“Thank you,” he then said hoarsely, and Jonghyun took the glass back and filled it up once more before putting it down on the coffee table for Jinki to have later. He then retreated back to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, gulping it down without pause.

“Do you remember much, hyung?” Jonghyun asked from the kitchen as he watched Jinki scratch at his wild hair and glance around for his glasses.

“No,” Jinki replied. “You?”

“Nothing. I blacked out after the soju.”

“Would it be rude of me to fall back asleep on your sofa?”

“Not at all,” Jonghyun laughed. He felt like doing the same. “I’m going to back to bed myself. Wanna go get some ramen later when we feel better?”

“If we feel better,” Jinki corrected.

“If _you_ feel better, hyung.” Jinki squinted up at him. “I’m already starting to feel better, but I could do with more sleep. Night!”

“Night,” Jinki grumbled, not bothering to correct Jonghyun this time. He fell quickly back to sleep, breathing quietly and rhythmically.  Jonghyun made his way back to his room and flopped back onto his bed. His eyes began to close almost immediately and before Jonghyun could begin to count sheep, he was nodding off.

* * *

A few hours later, the sun having set long ago and the sky was once again painted in darkness, the two emerged from Jonghyun’s apartment, gasping for food.

Jinki remained a man of few words as he and Jonghyun made their way down the street towards the well-lit restaurant area a few blocks away from the apartment. The ramen shop had opened a few months ago and Jonghyun had become a frequent customer, raving about the food to Jinki with every chance he got.

“What are your plans for Christmas, hyung?” Jonghyun asked, trying to make light conversation.

“I’m gonna just stay at home I think… maybe go visit my parents.”

“No girlfriend?”

“I would tell you if I had one,” Jinki said. “No, no girlfriend.”

Jonghyun sucked in air through his teeth. “It’s such a shame, too.”

Jinki peered at Jonghyun through long lashes and nudged at him with his elbow. “I could say the same to you.”

Jonghyun shrugged as they turned the corner. The street was busier than they expected, a lot of vendors were staying open over the holidays and couples were out on dates in the masses, snuggled together to combat the cold weather. “I have no time.”

“Pfft, give over,” Jinki joked. “No time? Why, what else do you do after work?”

“Actually,” Jonghyun began. “I’ve just started taking creative writing classes at the weekend to better my poetry.”

Jinki stopped and stared at Jonghyun. “You’re serious?”

“Of course I’m serious,” Jonghyun said, smiling. “I told you I would.”

“Yeah, but I thought you meant… never mind. That’s great! I’m glad you’re branching out.” There came that arm, slung around Jonghyun’s shoulder. Jinki, for some reason, just emanated heat and Jonghyun always found it comforting.

“Thanks hyung.”

They continued to walk down the street in silence, both wrapped in each other and ignoring a few pointed glances from other patrons. Just as they were about to reach the ramen place, a heavy weight crashed into Jonghyun’s side.

“Hey, watch it!” The voice barked out and the two men turned to apologise.

“Sorry, we’re still a little dru- Kibum?”

The other figure, the man named Kibum, blinked at them through thick rimmed glasses. “Oh, my God, Jinki-hyung! How are you?”

“I’m great, thank you. A little hungover but…”

Kibum let out an airy laugh. “That’s just like you hyung, you always were a heavy drinker.”

Jonghyun watched the exchange with a bewildered expression. Jinki glanced at him for a moment before pulling him forward into the conversation.

“Kibum, allow me to introduce you to my good friend, Kim Jonghyun.”

Kibum gave Jonghyun a glance over, his eyes widening slightly, and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Jonghyun. I’m sorry for earlier.”

“No worries,” Jonghyun shook off. He could smell the salty ramen broth calling him from behind and he shifted uncomfortably on alternating feet.

“Anyway, I have a few errands to run before all the shops close. I’ll see you later, hyung. Is your phone number still the same?”

“You bet it is!” Jinki replied with a bright smile, a complete contrast to the ghost he had been earlier. Kibum grinned and waved goodbye, bowing politely to Jonghyun before tearing off into the night, melting into the growing crowd.

Jonghyun growled low in his throat. “I’m hungry, hyung,” he bit out and grabbed Jinki’s arm to pull him into the restaurant.

* * *

“So, who was that earlier?” Jonghyun asked after tipping back two cups of green tea and sucking down a whole bowl of pork ramen.

“Oh, Kibum?” Jinki asked, stirring his ramen with his wooden chopsticks. “We went to college together. We were in the same theatre club.”

“You went to theatre club?” Jonghyun snorted.

“I have a thing for the arts,” Jinki said defensively. “Kibum, however, saw it as his calling. Acting was all he loved to do.”

“What was his major?”

“Literature and the fine arts.”

“A match made in heaven,” Jonghyun replied, holding back his sarcasm.

“Yeah, he was really good too… Last I heard of him was after I graduated and he was chosen to play Frankie in _Catch Me If You Can_ and apparently he’s been making waves after that.” Jinki slurped up a few noodles and took a bite out of his pork medallion. “Why are you asking me? Interested?”

“In him? No way,” Jonghyun replied. “He’s too… he just sounds too high maintenance.”

Jinki bit back a laugh as he slurped up a few more noodles. “He comes across that way, but he’s really nice once you get to know him. Are you sure you don’t want me to hook you up?”

“Jinki-hyung, after your last track record, I think I’ll politely decline.”

Jinki blinked at him, confused, before realisation dawned on him. “Oh, right… the Jaejoon thing.”

“Yes,” Jonghyun confirmed, sipping on his third cup of green tea. “The Jaejoon thing.”

“If it makes you feel better, I am really sorry about that,” Jinki said, and Jonghyun only let out a bark of laughter.

“Water under the bridge, hyung, but don’t think I’m going to trust you from now on.”

Jinki sighed into his bowl. “That’s fair.” He polished off the remains of his ramen. “But, I think you and Kibum would be good together.”

Jonghyun shook his head. “You don’t know me at all then, hyung.”

His friend turned silent and pondered the sentiment for a long moment. “Nah.” Jonghyun chuckled into his green tea as Jinki flashed him a winning grin. “I think I know you better than you do. I know you’re lonely, Jonghyun, just let me help you this once.”

“Help yourself first, hyung, and then you can help me.”

The grin on Jinki’s face didn’t cease. “Okay, how about we have a bet.”

“No.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun. It involves Taemin.”

Jonghyun glanced over at his friend with an interested smirk. “The rules?”

“The rules are you have to get Taemin to say the words ‘Blue Night is better than  Kiss the Radio’. If he says those exact words, I’ll leave you alone about being continuously single… but, if he doesn’t… you have to go on _one_ date with Kibum.”

Jonghyun sighed heavily. He hated these kinds of bets, but he knew for a fact it would be easy to get those words out of Taemin’s mouth, he was a people pleaser and a social climber who just debuted into a cut-throat world. He’d do anything and say anything that would make him loveable and endearing.

Jonghyun held out his hand for Jinki to shake. “You’re on.” He knew he would succeed, and not even Jinki’s confident grin would be enough to shake him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i said that the previous chapter's notes would be it but i just wanted to say that i had planned on updating on saturday.  
> but after the first concert, i was too overwhelmed to even think about the story, let alone look and it and edit it. and i thought that a lot of you would feel the same way too. the update schedule will be next tuesday and then the next saturday and it will follow a tue/sat progression until the end.
> 
> Thank you for all of your comments & kudos <3


	3. Chapter 3

The holidays came and went without much pause for celebration. Jonghyun spent Christmas on his sofa in the dark watching cheesy eighties movies back to back and eating whatever he could find in his fridge (he considered himself lucky to find a couple packs of frozen chicken wings at the back of his freezer and decided to deep fried them as a treat. He also happened to snap a photo to send to Jinki who only responded with a simple picture of him sticking his middle finger up) and drinking beer. His New Year’s also went by as uneventful, but he decided to stop by his mother’s house to wish her a happy new year and ended up staying for a home cooked meal.

Over the course of the two weeks, Jonghyun received multiple updates from Minho about his trip to France. They were staying in the south, a small seaside town named Marseille, and from the looks of it, the weather seemed to be cold (Minho and Irene were wrapped up warmly in fashionable coats and Irene was sporting a felted beret) but there wasn’t as much snow as there was in Seoul. However, it seemed his wife had an ulterior motive to staying in France over the winter season, and it was to announce the fact that she and Minho were going to be parents. Minho had explained that he wanted to tell Jonghyun as soon as he knew but Irene had asked him to keep it a secret until after New Year’s, so they could tell her parents first.

“What about your family?” Jonghyun had asked during a short phone call. He was sat in his study looking out into the night sky, watching as snow began to fall once again. The moon was pale, and dim but solitude in the sky, not a single star in sight.

“We’re going to tell them when we come back,” Minho explained.

“I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to know I knew before them,” Jonghyun joked.

“It doesn’t really matter who finds out first,” Minho said. “As long as we announce it to them in person rather than, say, over the phone.”

“Alright, I hear you. I’m not as special to you,” Jonghyun teased. He heard Minho chuckle softly on the other end.

“Of course you’re special hyung; I’ve known you for years… I just wanted you to know as soon as we told Irene’s parents. Anyway, I best go, we’re going for a walk along the dockland and Irene wants to go shopping.”

And that had been the end of that. Every day Jonghyun received a text message and an accompanying photograph of Minho and Irene, to the point where it felt like they were blatantly mocking him for being single. Though, he knew Minho would never be like that, he was too kind hearted to even think of such a thing – he just wanted Jonghyun to feel like a part of their family despite the current distance.

However, he didn’t have too long to dwell on the meaning behind Minho’s family photos as he was back to Blue Night as soon as the New Year had closed up. It had felt like an eternity since he said goodbye to the broadcast for a break and he was immediately glad to be back in his leather chair with his familiar mics poking into his face.

However, there was something unfamiliar waiting for him in the staff room. A skinny boy with curly black hair and cute, rounded features was sat on the sofa running through his phone and taking sips of water from a metal flask.

 _Ah_ , Jonghyun realised, _this must be Taemin_.

The idol looked up as soon as Jonghyun entered the room and smiled politely. “Hello,” he said.

Jonghyun was taken aback by his floaty voice, it sounded youthful and jovial and nothing like the growling, almost animalistic singing Jonghyun had heard in the past. “Hi there,” Jonghyun replied, reaching into the mini fridge and grabbing himself a bottle of water. “Are you excited?”

Taemin immediately shook his head. “Nervous more like.”

Jonghyun chuckled and took a sip of his water before shaking his head. “You shouldn’t be. It’ll go flawlessly. I’m a good radio host.”

“I know,” Taemin said, looking up at the DJ through black coated lashes. “I listen to your show when I have late schedules. Your voice is very soothing.”

“Well, thank you.”

“It’s not the whole radio thing that’s bothering me… it’s being recorded.”

Jonghyun stopped. “What do you mean it’s being recorded?”

Taemin blinked nervously. “You didn’t know?”

Jonghyun paled and he began to feel lightheaded. He was content with being on the radio, only having his voice presented to the masses, but having his face showcased like he himself was some kind of idol felt intrusive. “No… I didn’t.” He knew having Taemin on his show was a big deal but he hadn’t thought it would be worth making a live recording.

The door to the staff room opened again and Jinki bounded in with a big smile on his face. He bowed to Taemin and then turned to Jonghyun, smile falling immediately. “Whoa, you don’t look so good.”

Jonghyun grabbed hold of Jinki’s t-shirt and pulled him in. “You didn’t tell me we were having a video broadcast!”

Jinki blanched. “Oh, I thought it would be best if you didn’t know… I know you’re camera shy.”

Jonghyun released his friend and pressed his bottle of water to his head, trying to fight any headache that might emerge from the stress. “I’ll just try to ignore it as best as I can.”

Jinki grinned. “You’ll do fine, I’m sure! Anyway, I just wanted to remind you about our little bet.”

The DJ groaned. He’d completely forgotten. “Can we just put it off?”

“No chance,” Jinki replied, shaking his head. “We shook on it. Just remember what you have to do.” He winked mischievously and left the room, bowing to Taemin once more before disappearing behind the heavy wooden door.

“A bet?” Taemin asked.

“Oh, it’s just some stupid thing we made up when we were drunk. It’s nothing,” Jonghyun dismissed, waving his hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Does it include me?” Taemin then asked and Jonghyun found it would be very hard to lie to him, with his big vibrant eyes and cheeky, innocent smile.

“No,” he said, gritting the word out but Taemin didn’t seem to believe him. There was a wry smile on those plush lips as he turned back to his phone. Jonghyun decided to take a seat opposite him and close his eyes, counting down the minutes before he would be on camera, live, in front of his audience and Taemin’s fans.

He felt the leather dip next to him and he cracked one eye open to see Taemin staring at him with a dark look in his eyes. The idol licked his lips and moved a little closer until his mouth was pressed up against his ear.

“I heard from a few rumours that you were as gay as fuck,” he whispered and Jonghyun froze. What was happening here? “It’s okay if you are.”

“W-where did you hear that?”

Taemin didn’t reply and he moved back, shrugging his shoulders. A hand came up and rested on Jonghyun’s thigh. “I’m kind of glad… I was worried I was the only one in this industry.”

Jonghyun swallowed thickly and tried to move away. “Taemin… I don’t think we should…” He nodded to the door where anyone, including Taemin’s manager, could walk in at any time.

Taemin got the hint and held back. He pushed himself away. “You know, if you want a good time, I’d be willing to give you some. You’re really good looking.”

Jonghyun felt himself grow hot under his sweater and he began to tug at it to bring some cooling air to his skin. “Th-thank you but I’m not really interested in that kind of thing.”

Taemin winked at him. “I understand.”

The door then swung open and Seulgi stood in frame, smiling. “Show time, boys.”

* * *

So far things had been running smoothly. Taemin kept his hands to himself for the most part, only offering flirtatious winks whenever he said something suggestive – which was often, surprising Jonghyun.

“How about we take a few calls from your fans,” Jonghyun offered after he played another one of Taemin’s songs from his album. That one had been called _Play Me_ and had led to Taemin giving him a few playful dance moves that in retrospect would definitely look like flirting if you knew Taemin’s true intentions.

“That sounds wonderful,” Taemin said into the mic, adjusting his hat to smile into the camera. He was a natural in front of the lens, which made sense given his profession but for Jonghyun this whole scenario was a well-articulated plan of torture. “I’d love to hear what my fans have to say.”

Jonghyun swallowed audibly when Taemin rubbed his calf with the inner part of his left foot, slowly. It creeped upwards, and a hot feeling crawled over Jonghyun’s skin. “Right,” he said, trying to maintain composure. He was sure he was failing at it from the winning grin on Taemin’s beautiful face. “Here’s a message from a fan called Key-ssi. Ah, Key-ssi, I remember you,” Jonghyun said with a fond smile. “I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.”

“Key-ssi, that’s unusual,” Taemin added, leaning across to Jonghyun. Jonghyun tried very hard to pay no attention, he’d been used to this kind of thing from women but when it came from a man, and a very attractive man at that, it lead Jonghyun’s mind astray very differently. Then again, it was easy to ignore women’s advances when you had no interest in them at all. “What does Key-ssi have to say?”

“Hello DJ Jonghyun and Taemin-ssi. I’m very sorry for my outburst on your radio show before Christmas – Ah, don’t worry about it, Key-ssi – and I would like to ask Taemin how he prepared for his debut.”

Taemin licked his lips. “Well, I joined SM when I was only 16 and trained constantly. I was already a pretty well-known dancer at the company, and I was due to debut with another group until the idea went under… I was left in an awkward position and I was offered two options, either I train my voice and debut as a soloist or I leave and return to the normal world.”

Jonghyun opened his mouth to say something before snapping it shut. Surely he wasn’t the only one who noticed that Taemin had completely avoided the question. “Well, I’m glad you debuted as a soloist, it’d be a shame to let your talent die.”

Taemin’s foot creeped up higher and Jonghyun almost lost his self-restraint.

“But, I think Key-ssi was asking more about the process of your debut, like the choice of songs and your dances.”

“Well, I wanted to do an edgy theme for my debut, you know to counteract my cute face.” To make his point, Taemin winked at the camera and smiled brightly. “So, I picked a few songs that sounded sensual and dangerous and then I helped with choreographing the dances.”

Jonghyun nodded along as Taemin spoke, trying to ignore the fact that Taemin’s foot now pressed up against his inner thigh, so very dangerously close to his crotch.

“Speaking of your sensual songs, perhaps we shall play your title song. Aptly named _Danger_ , this song has been in the charts for 20 weeks since its release. Please enjoy.”

Jonghyun leant back, sighing in relief when he felt Taemin’s foot nudge him gently. He looked across the table to Taemin, who hid his mouth behind his hand.

“I want you,” he whispered to Jonghyun before dragging his teeth along his lower lip for extra exaggeration. Jonghyun simply offered a weak smile and tried his hardest to fight his racing heartbeat.

The show continued effortlessly, thankfully, and after Taemin’s unspoken confession, he’d remained well-behaved. He kept all hands and feet to himself and only offered Jonghyun a few suggestive side glances that made Jonghyun feel like he was stuck in a never ending x-ray.

“As we come to a close, let’s thank Taemin for taking time out of his busy schedule to join me here today.”

“Thank you for having me, Jonghyun-hyung.”

“You’re very welcome. Say, how do you feel about Blue Night compared to Kiss The Radio?”

Taemin chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully for a second. “You know, I liked being here. But, I also really liked Kiss The Radio. Hmm…” Taemin hummed into the microphone and Jonghyun waited with baited breath. “If I had to say… Blue Night is just as good as Kiss The Radio!” He said with a cheery smile and Jonghyun felt his whole world drop around him. He saw from the corner of his eye Jinki stand up with his arms raised above his head in victory.

However, Jonghyun remained professional. “Well, I’m glad you rate us both so highly. Thank you again for joining us tonight. As I close today’s show, shall we listen to one last song by Taemin? This one is titled _Ace_ and was written for him by close friend and label mate, Changmin. I hope you all will join me tomorrow under this blue night. This has been Jonghyun, thank you, and goodnight.”

As the first few notes of _Ace_ began to play, Jonghyun dropped his head into his hands and sighed. He heard Taemin pull himself away from the desk and walk over to him. “That offer still stands,” he simply said before leaving the studio completely, the cameras still rolling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i got my dates mixed around. i'm updating today and then there won't be update on tuesday. sorry for the confusion.


	4. Chapter 4

Jinki was being suspicious, Jonghyun thought when he returned the studio the next day. Since Taemin had left and Jonghyun had lost the bet, he would’ve expected the engineer to immediately set up the date, but for some reason, he was being uncharacteristically quiet.

“The ratings from yesterday were incredible!” Seulgi announced, pulling up the statistics on her laptop and swivelling it around to the rest of the group. Jonghyun headed the table on the opposite end, having been forced into the meeting by Seulgi and Joy, watching Jinki suspiciously from the corner of his eye. “And the comments were really positive for the most part!”

“I bet most of them were just Taemin’s fans,” Joy said, leaning back in her chair. Seulgi looked at her assistant and smirked, tapping her nose.

“Surprisingly, most of the comments were about our beloved DJ.” Jonghyun sat up, a cold chill racing down his spine. “A lot of our fans can’t quite believe how handsome you are, Jonghyun. They’re asking for more video broadcasts.”

“What? Of Jonghyun alone?” Jinki asked.

“Yes! Here’s one comment: ‘ _DJ Jonghyun is so handsome, his hair is like moonlight_!’. And another: ‘ _DJ Jonghyun’s smile is something else, he’s so beautiful. I’m in love_!’.”

“Okay, but what about the negative comments?” Jonghyun asked.

Seulgi’s face turned. “Ah, most of them were about when you read Key’s comment. A lot of them were very derogatory and downright disgusting so I banned some of the worst of it.”

“A lot of them seemed to focus on Key’s phone call,” Joy explained. “Specifically when he mentioned having a boyfriend.”

“I can’t believe people are just like that,” Jinki said, shaking his head. Jonghyun kept his low, thankful that Seulgi hadn’t read any of those comments out loud. Even if they were about another person, they would still run deep in his heart.

“Speaking of Key,” Seulgi butted in, her tone cold. “Jonghyun, I remember specifically not wanting him to appear on my show anymore!”

Jonghyun held his hands up. “Hey, he apologised, I thought you might appreciate it.”

Seulgi pursed her lips. “I won’t lie, I was a little happy to hear him apologising… but still… he might bring the ratings down.”

“I think he’s interesting,” Joy said. She had stolen Seulgi’s laptop during the discussion and had begun rummaging through the comments. “Plus, despite the negativity, a lot of people thought Jonghyun and Key’s chemistry was pretty cool.”

“What chemistry?” Jinki asked. “They spoke to each other once and then Key sent in a written message.”

“Girls will see what they want to see,” Joy refuted. “Don’t question us. Besides, a lot of people thought Jonghyun’s smile when he read out Key’s message was cute.” Jonghyun covered his incriminating mouth with his hand and lowered himself in his seat.  “Why don’t we chalk this up to a drunken mistake and let him call regularly. We could make him a segment!” Joy suggested.

Seulgi shook her head and took her laptop back. “A segment of what? Questions with Key? He’s not even a part of the show, he’s just a caller. I won’t screen his calls and I’ll let Jonghyun decide.”

All eyes turned to the DJ at the other end of the table and Jonghyun felt as if he were stuck on stage, pants around his ankles and the whole world laughing at his dick. “I… I don’t mind. I liked his drunken call.”

Seulgi clapped her hands, but her face seemed to betray her posture. Her brows were straight and mouth downturned. “Well, it’s decided. We’ll allow Key to call as often as he wishes to, no screening.”

“You changed your mind awfully quick, PD,” Jinki pointed out with a smirk.

Seulgi flipped her long hair over her shoulders and grinned. “What can I say? The viewers weren’t the only one to catch that smile.” She gave Jonghyun a wink. “We have one hour left until show time so let’s get ready!”

Everyone stood to leave the boardroom and Jonghyun immediately pounced on Jinki, grasping onto his t-shirt and pulling him aside. Jinki stared at his friend with surprised, wide eyes. “What’s going on?” He asked.

“You’re being suspicious,” Jonghyun accused.

“Am I? How?” Jinki asked, genuinely oblivious.

“You won the bet, why aren’t you getting in my face about it?” Jonghyun asked.

Jinki released Jonghyun’s grip on his t-shirt and smoothed himself down. “I’m not getting in your face about it because Kibum declined to go on the date with you.”

“He… what? He declined? _Why_?” Jonghyun began to feel defensive. Was there something wrong with him?

“No idea, he said he had better things to do than be set up on a blind date with some stranger.”

“Right,” Jonghyun said. “Well.”

“I’m joking!” Jinki laughed. “You should’ve seen your face! You looked so disappointed.”

Jonghyun scowled. “That’s not funny, hyung.”

“I thought it was. No, Kibum said he’d be willing to go as long as he picked the destination.”

Jonghyun shrugged. “I have no issue.”

“I can’t believe you were disappointed! After all that garbage you spewed the other day.”

“Alright, hyung.”

“Admit it, you’re looking forward to it,” Jinki teased, pulling Jonghyun into a one-armed hug.

“I’m just looking forward to meeting someone new, that’s all,” Jonghyun said and Jinki pinched his cheek.

“Ah, my good deed for the year is done,” he proclaimed, letting go of the DJ and retreating to the door. “I’ll see you in the studio, you lucky thing, you!”

Jonghyun scratched at the back of his head, embarrassed. Sure, he’d been disappointed when Jinki had said Kibum had declined, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was looking forward to the actual date, right?

_Right_?

* * *

The establishment Kibum chose was a high-end restaurant in Gangnam, a couple subway stops from Jonghyun’s apartment. The restaurant was Italian based and only served top secret family recipes from Bologna. To match the setting, Jonghyun wore his best suit – a navy blue designer two piece he picked up during a sale a few years ago – and his dress shoes. He pushed his bleached hair back with wax and put in contacts, deciding it best to leave his dorky glasses at home.

The agreed time was roughly around 7, and whilst Jonghyun could think of better things to do on his day off, he didn’t mind standing outside this restaurant, hoping that Kibum would make it.

“Wait, why am I getting so hopeful?” Jonghyun wondered aloud.

“Do you always talk to yourself?” A voice to his right asked. Jonghyun immediately look to the source and found Kibum with perfectly styled brunet hair and a velvet grey suit watching him with an amused smirk on his handsome face.

“Not always,” Jonghyun said. “You look really good.”

“I know, but thank you,” Kibum responded with an arrogant grin. “Shall we go in?”

“Sure,” Jonghyun replied as Kibum immediately walked into the restaurant, acting like he belonged amongst the clientele. And, in all honesty, he did belong – at least, to Jonghyun he did.

“A reservation for Kim.”

Jonghyun hadn’t realised he and Kibum had the same last name. Be real, he then thought, it’s a common last name. The maître‘d led them to a secluded two seated table, overlooking the illuminated street. He pulled out a seat for Jonghyun and then for Kibum before handing them their menus. He then bowed and walked away.

“This is such a fancy place,” Jonghyun commented. Kibum looked up at him over his menu.

“Is this a new thing for you?”

“Honestly, yes.”

“Let me guess, that ramen restaurant I saw you and Jinki-hyung in front of was a regular occurrence?”

Jonghyun shifted in the plush, Italian leather seat. “For me, it is… but that was the first for Jinki-hyung.”

Kibum smirked, hidden behind the menu. “You shouldn’t eat that stuff; it has so much sodium in it you’ll bloat like a balloon.”

Jonghyun pressed his fingers into his cheeks. He knew ramen nearly every day wasn’t exactly the healthiest option, but it was better than eating friend chicken all the time, like Jinki.

“Forgive me if I ask this, but… you are Jonghyun from Blue Night, right?” Kibum then asked, placing his menu down delicately. He laced his fingers together and rested his chin against them gently.

“That’s me, yes.”

“I knew I recognised your voice,” Kibum said. “I’ll be honest; you’re a lot better looking than I thought.”

“Thank you?”

“I caught your live broadcast the other day. With Taemin. You seemed rather uncomfortable during that.”

Jonghyun choked on air and coughed into his fist until his face turned red. A waiter rushed over and poured him a glass of water that he thanked for in between gasps. Quickly, he gulped down some of the ice cold water and coughed once more before taking deep breaths.

“Did I say something?” Kibum asked with a bemused look on his face.

“Ah, sorry, you just reminded me of something, that’s all.”

“Nothing bad, I hope?” Kibum asked, fluttering his eyelashes. Jonghyun took a second to admire him under the pristine white lighting. His skin was flawless, unmarked save for a bald patch on his left eyebrow. His eyes were slanted, almost cat-like, and his nose was perfectly positioned. His heart-shaped mouth captured the most attention as he formed words, as well as that pink tongue poked out in between sentences to lick at those lips. “Are you okay?” Kibum waved a hand in front of Jonghyun’s face.

“Oh, sorry!” Well, now he felt like the world’s biggest creep for checking Kibum out mid-way through their conversation. Way to go, Romeo. “I’ve been thinking about work a lot.”

Kibum snorted into his own glass of water. “Tell me about it. Did Jinki tell you I’m an actor?”

“Yes, for musical theatre.”

Kibum nodded. “That’s right. I’m currently in a rendition of _Bonnie and Clyde_ and I’m so exhausted from it. I usually have no issue with these kinds of musicals, but this one is taking it out of me.”

“ _Bonnie and Clyde_? I didn’t think they made a musical about that.”

“Me neither, but, you’re looking at Clyde!”

“You’re the lead?”

Kibum grinned.  “Of course. You should come see me on stage some time. Especially since I take time out of my schedule to listen your show.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Jonghyun said, feeling embarrassed. He ducked down behind his menu and stare intently at the dishes. They all seemed so extravagant and the prices were beyond Jonghyun’s budget. “These are all very expensive.”

“No worries, I’m paying,” Kibum said.

“I can’t let you do that,” Jonghyun said, frowning.

“I picked this place, and besides, it’s a date. Let me treat you.” Kibum offered Jonghyun a wink that had Jonghyun reaching for another sip of water. “What do you want?”

“The carbonara sounds good…”

“No way, you need to try their seafood cream pasta, it’s to die for!”

“Alright, I’ll try that then.”

“And a white wine too,” Kibum added. He raised his hand in the air to draw attention to the waiter and relayed the order to him. Within seconds the menus were whipped off their table and the waiter was gone. “You’ll love it, trust me.”

Jonghyun found himself smiling along with Kibum. Feeling adventurous, he leaned in and quirked an eyebrow suggestively. “You have a lot riding on this pasta tasting good.”

Kibum smirked again. “Oh, do I now? It’s a good thing I’m not worried then.”

Jonghyun snorted out a laugh and the two fell into a comfortable atmosphere, talking about work and life and Jinki.

“Has he always been such a klutz?” Jonghyun asked as their wine was being poured up. He automatically reached for the glass and took a swig. Dry and fruity - delicious.

“Oh, God, yes. One time he was asked to fix up the lighting because our regular guy was off sick and he knocked all of them over at once. We had at least seventeen lights up. All of them went down. Two of them shattered. I never laughed so hard in my life!”

“He tries to be so suave every time he talks to me before the show. He does this thing where he leans up against my desk and he just moves everything – my monitors, my mic, everything – to the left!”

Kibum laughed into his wine. “Sounds like Jinki-hyung. God, I miss him. He was always a riot.”

A few moments later their meals arrived and Jonghyun dug in immediately, twirling his pasta around is fork and slurping it up. He chewed thoroughly before smiling. “Well, you were right, Kibum. I love it.”

His date simply offered him a nod of his wine glass and a wink. “I told you so.”


	5. Chapter 5

“So, how did it go?” Was the first thing Jinki asked Jonghyun when the DJ turned up to the studio the following evening - Jinki had been making coffee for himself and Yunho, one of the other engineers, when Jonghyun had walked in – and his response was a loud and obnoxious yawn as Jonghyun slumped onto the old leather sofa in the staff room. “Badly then I take it? I’m sorry; my track record hadn’t been too good… I won’t set you up anymore.”

“It didn’t go badly at all,” Jonghyun confessed, face first in the leather. “It actually went really well and I had the best time.”

Jinki lit up like a million Christmas trees all at once. “Really!? That’s so good to hear!” He brought over the cup of coffee meant for Yunho and held it out in front of Jonghyun. The blond sat up properly and accepted the cup. He inhaled the bittersweet smell and took a long gulp. “So, will you see him again?”

Jonghyun hesitated, staring at his drink. “I don’t know…”

“What? But you said-“

“I know what I said,” Jonghyun began. “…I know what I said, hyung. I’ve never had so much fun with anyone before, especially not in that kind of environment… I just don’t know if I have the time to commit.”

“You don’t have to commit to anything just yet,” Jinki advised. “If he makes you feel good, keep seeing him.”

Jonghyun wasn’t completely convinced and he took another sip of his coffee. And then another. And then he finished the mug off to the last dregs. “What if he wants something more?”

Jinki shrugged his shoulders and pressed a firm but gentle hand on Jonghyun’s upper arm. “Then you’ll come to that when it happens. But, I think by that point, you may have found your answer.”

The cryptic response was less than helpful in Jonghyun’s opinion but Jinki was already up and out of the staffroom, taking his lone mug of coffee with him. Jonghyun, alone in the staffroom with an hour until he went live, fell back against the sofa and sighed against the cracking, worn-out leather exterior.

* * *

The broadcast ran on and Jonghyun seemed a little too out of it. He came across distracted, trailing off midway through sentences and stories, and even forgetting some of the titles of the music he played. Seulgi watched him, eagle-eyed, from the sound booth, gripping her beloved clipboard so tightly she threatened to break it.

“What is he doing?” Seulgi hissed. “Jinki, what’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know, PD,” Jinki replied, watching Jonghyun intently. “I think he needs some cheering up. Do we have any callers waiting?”

“We have one, it’s from Taemin,” Yunho said.

“Taemin? As in the idol? Why is he calling?” Jinki asked, rhetorically. “Never mind… just patch it through.”

The red light on Jonghyun’s sound board drew his attention away from the window – it had begun to snow again. “Oh, it seems we have a mystery caller,” he said into the mic, his tone a little more chipper than before. He held back a mysterious smile, hoping to hear Key’s voice run through his speakers. He could still imagine everything about that voice despite it having been a few weeks since he heard it last. “Hello, this is Blue Night, you are on the air.”

“Jonghyun-hyung?” Taemin’s voice crackled through and Jonghyun immediately went red.

“H-hello, Taemin-ah! What a surprise!”

“Ah, I missed you, hyung, I thought I’d give you a call since I’m free from any commitments right now,” Taemin said, his voice sounded hazy and tired, as if he had just woken up. “You don’t sound like yourself tonight, hyung.”

“Oh, don’t I?” Jonghyun asked, forcing a chuckle under his breath. “I’m sorry, I’ve been thinking about something.”

“Or someone, perhaps?” Taemin asked hopefully.

Seulgi watched as the number of listeners began to rise dramatically with Taemin’s impromptu phone call. She sighed heavily and pressed her hand to her forehead, saving her head from any oncoming ache.

“Aha, Taemin-ah, what are you talking about?” Jonghyun joked, but his tone gave him away.

“Ah, hyung, do you miss me? I make such an impression on people.”

Jonghyun smiled. “Taemin-ah, if you’re not careful people may start questioning things.”

Taemin laughed deeply and Jonghyun felt his heart flip in his throat. Taemin had an attractive laugh, but it reminded him a lot of Kibum’s from the previous night and he found himself thinking about those eyes and that pouty mouth that he had, in all honesty, really wanted to kiss by the end of the date (“I don’t kiss on first dates,” Kibum had said with a suggestive wink before climbing into a taxi). “You’re right, hyung. I just wanted to request a song from my favourite radio station, if that’s okay?”

“Your favourite radio show, huh?” Jonghyun teased. Where was that a few days ago? Taemin could’ve saved Jonghyun a lot of heartache if he’d been so vigilant and less of an everyone-pleaser. “I suppose I can do that for you.”

“Ah, thank you. I’m currently in my manager’s car on the way home so could you play Taeyeon’s _I Got Love_ , please?”

“Of course, Taemin-ah. Have a good night.”

“You too, hyung. See you soon, hopefully.” The idol hung up immediately and Seulgi watched as the numbers remained stagnant on her screen. She prayed that they wouldn’t drop now that Taemin had left.

“Well, for Taemin-ah, we shall play his request. Here is Taeyeon’s _I Got Love_ , a sultry love song, perfect for this evening.” Jonghyun played the song and sat back, sighing deeply. He tried his best to ignore the suggestive lyrics and the implication of what they meant from Taemin’s point of view.

 _Need you closer, need you closer_ … Taeyeon sang into his ears. Jonghyun liked Taeyeon’s music and actively followed her promotions as much as he could, but right now she felt like a bane to his existence.

He allowed himself to close his eyes and just enjoy the music, forgetting about Taemin. Howeverhis mind seemed to have other plans and he soon began picturing Kibum’s pretty lips forming along with Taeyeon’s words and Jonghyun felt a cold sweat run down his back. This was attraction for sure, something he hadn’t felt in a long time, and it left him feeling terrified.

* * *

After a few more songs, Jonghyun returned to taking calls.

“Hello, this is Blue Night; you’re live on the air.”

“Hello, DJ Jonghyun, my name is Key.”

Jonghyun immediately perked up, much to Seulgi’s disbelief. “Key-ssi, it’s been a while!”

“It has. I want to apologise to everyone once more for my outburst on your last show.”

Jonghyun laughed freely. “Don’t worry about Key-ssi, I hope everything is working out well for you now?”

“Actually, it is. I was hoping for some advice from you, DJ Jjong.”

The nickname felt unfamiliar but it sat well in Jonghyun’s heart. He ignored that little feeling in the back of his mind warning him that his voice sounded familiar. All voices sounded familiar when it was through a low-quality phone call on a radio station. “Well, I’ll help you in any way I can.”

Key returned Jonghyun’s laugh with one of his own and Jonghyun still continued to fight the familiarity in the caller’s voice. “I went on a date a few nights ago and the person I went with… hasn’t call me since. I was just wondering what you would do in that situation?”

“Ah… that kind of thing. I usually contact them first, just a few nonchalant questions like ‘ _how are you?’_ Or ‘ _have you been doing well?’._ Something like that. Try not to come across too forceful. Perhaps you should bring up the date itself, tell them you had fun and you’d like to do it again.” A small smile crept on Jonghyun’s face. “That’s what I should do. I mean, _would_ do. If I were in your situation.”

He could hear Key smile on the other line. “That sounds good. But what if that person was put off by my personality?”

“Then, Key-ssi, that person isn’t worth your time,” Jonghyun said honestly. Key’s voice felt warm and comforting. He could listen to it forever if possible. “Key-ssi, I’m sure you’re a great guy and anyone would be lucky to date you, so don’t forget to let that person know that little fact.”

Key chuckled. “Thank you DJ Jjong. I have to go now; I have work to get to. I hope you have a good remainder of the show.”

“Thank you, Key-ssi, I hope you’ll keep listening. If you have any other queries just call here and I’ll try my best.”

“Thank you DJ Jjong.”

The call ended with a soft click and Jonghyun sighed into the mic, forgetting where he was for a minute. His eyes wandered over to the sound booth where Seulgi was gesturing wildly to do something other than sit there like a love sick fool.

“Well, as I said to Key-ssi earlier, if you have any queries I’d be more than happy to offer my insight! Shall we play another song? How about _Ace_ by Taemin? That song’s grown on me quite a bit. I like to play this song when I’m at home studying or writing. If you are struggling to focus on something important, give this song a listen to.”

* * *

Seulgi cornered him the moment the show was finished, the red ON AIR light above the door dimming.

“You are trying to send me to an early grave,” she said with a serious tone.

“I’m not, I swear, Seulgi. I was just thinking about something. I’ll be better.”

Seulgi sighed for a moment and tapped her foot impatiently. She then smiled gently. “I know you will, because you are the star of my show. Tomorrow I shall arrange a live video broadcast for you so you best be on your a-game.”

“Who’s the guest?” Jonghyun asked.

“No one, it’ll just be you,” Seulgi said before turning to Joy to whisper some arrangements that she quickly jotted down. “Don’t look so panicky. You’ll do fine, especially since Taemin won’t be here to distract you.” She smiled encouragingly. “You had an off day today, I can accept that. Don’t worry about it too much and think of the time ahead. You are a superstar, Jonghyun.”

Jonghyun nodded along with Seulgi’s pep talk. Her smile brightened when he gave her a weak thumbs-up as a sign of agreement. He’d been working for her for nearly over two years and he still didn’t quite understand her personality. She was as soft as a teddy bear… until her patience wore thin and then she became a real, true to life, bear. Jonghyun liked her, as a PD and a person, but he often wondered if the smiles she put on were actually how she felt.

“Anyway, let’s go out for drinks to celebrate,” Seulgi then announced with a giant grin on her pretty face.

“No thanks,” Jonghyun declined.

“Celebrate what exactly?” Jinki questioned as he and Yunho emerged from the sound booth.

“To celebrate our high listener rating! Let’s go-go!”

“No thanks,” Jonghyun repeated and Seulgi stared him down. “I’m going to get some sleep so I’m in my best shape for tomorrow.”

Seulgi nodded, pursing her lips. “That’s actually a good idea. You rest up. I’ll treat the rest now, but tomorrow, you and I are going out for hotpot.”

“Hotpot sounds so good,” Joy moaned.

“I want hotpot,” Yunho added.

Seulgi sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Alright, everyone just call it a night and tomorrow we’ll all go out for hotpot.”

“Hooray!” Joy and Yunho cheered, throwing their arms in the air to celebrate. Jonghyun watched, amused, as the two exited the studio, pumping their arms in the air as they chanted “Hotpot! Hotpot!” over and over again.

“Those two are like children,” Seulgi laughed as she followed after them. “Are you going to sit there all night, Jonghyun?” She then asked, looking back over her shoulder. Jinki stood at the door, waiting for him.

“No, I’m coming.” Jonghyun said before standing up and trailing after them.

The lights to the studio turned off, plunging the space into darkness and Jonghyun decided to listen to his own advice. He would text Kibum and schedule another date as soon as possible.

However, when he reached his phone, he discovered he’d been beaten to the chase.

“ _Karaoke. Saturday. 10pm. Sound good? - K_ ”

Jonghyun bit his lip, holding back a smile. Actually, yeah, that sounded really good. He responded and locked his phone, pressing it against his chest.

He couldn’t wait for this date.


	6. Chapter 6

The next couple of days flew by in Jonghyun’s opinion. He suffered through the live video broadcast awkwardly, and discovered that a lot of his fan-base were younger women, roughly aged between sixteen and twenty. A lot of them were unashamed of voicing their thoughts on Jonghyun’s appearance on the live chat that had been set up.

The broadcast after was the regular kind: Jonghyun talking into the mic about everything and anything. He spoke about Valentine’s Day being a couple of weeks away, and a few listeners sent in messages asking for advice on how to treat their boyfriends for the holiday. Jonghyun jokingly replied that he had little care for the holiday, being bitterly single for so long, but he offered the same old generic advice: chocolate was always a winner, and dinner and a movie couldn’t go wrong by any feat. He also offered outlandish advice, using his creative writing as a focus point, and suggested that they try a hand at writing poetry or a song.

“Oppa, that’s something a man should do for their girlfriend!” One of the commenters responded and Jonghyun chuckled, trying hard not to roll his eyes. He then explained that to him, music is genderless and men can enjoy poetry and music as much as a girl can.

His advice had gone well, so he thought, and he forgot about it completely until Saturday when he walked up to the karaoke bar Kibum had chosen for their second date. It was in the dead centre of Hongdae, overlooking all the busy clubs and bars. It was fairly new, opened a few months ago and apparently a lot of celebrities frequented it.

Huddled in a thick, padded coat and scarf, Jonghyun waited on fidgeting feet for his date to turn up. He smiled at couples passing him by, offering him perplexing gazes. He hadn’t thought he would look so odd standing outside a karaoke bar, in winter clothes, in the centre of Seoul’s nightlife hub, but he supposed compared to all the skimpy clothing everyone else was wearing, he did look a bit odd.

“Hey, have you been waiting long?” Jonghyun heard Kibum’s voice to his right and he immediately spun on his heel to face his date. Kibum was well dressed in a tailored trench coat, angora wool sweater with pastel pink lapels poking out of the top.

“Not at all,” Jonghyun said, muffled through his scarf. “Shall we go in?”

“Sure.” Kibum shrugged a shoulder and the two walked in together. Jonghyun could feel Kibum’s presence move a little closer to him, their shoulders bumping as they walked in sync. A warm feeling washed over his skin, and he was certain it wasn’t from the central heating of the bar.

Kibum booked a room for two and then ordered two beers. Jonghyun looked over the rota, eyeing each song available, only diverting his attention away when Kibum appeared by his side. He accepted the beer with a cheery smile and pushed his scarf out of the way of his mouth to take a sip.

“She said our room will be about twenty minutes. Do you want anything to eat?”

Jonghyun shook his head, he actually had been planning on tricking Kibum into trying that ramen restaurant near his apartment and thus decided to save room in his stomach. Kibum pursed his heart-shaped lips and then took a sip of his own beer.

An awkward quiet fell between them and Jonghyun fidgeted, wondering he should bring up Kibum’s rehearsals.

“I heard your show last night,” Kibum finally said. “I’ve actually been listening very intently.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Yeah, I like your advice sections. That, um, Key-ssi is an odd guy, huh,” Kibum continued, a funny smile on his face. The kind of smile when you had a secret you didn’t want to spill.

“I don’t think so,” Jonghyun replied, smiling fondly. “I quite like him.”

It was Kibum’s turn to choke. He had been taking a sip of his beer as Jonghyun spoke and his sudden confession had taken him by surprise. “O-oh, you do,” Kibum said, the complete opposite of his composed stature.

“Sure. He’s interesting. He adds a spark of interest to my day.”

Kibum bit his lip, fighting a smile away from his face. “What’s going on with you and Taemin?” He then asked and Jonghyun sighed heavily.

“Don’t ask, just… don’t ask. That kid…” Jonghyun shook his head.

“Well, I should know if he’s a rival of mine, right?” Kibum said. Jonghyun looked up immediately at him, wide eyes. Before he could say anything else, they were called up for their room and the conversation hung between them with unfinished words.

* * *

If there was one thing Jonghyun enjoyed more than writing poetry, it was singing. He’d been the star of his school’s choir throughout his high school career and for good reason too.

“Holy hell,” Kibum said, finishing off his first beer. “You can _sing_!”

“Thank you, thank you,” Jonghyun said in return, bowing deeply. “I try.”

“Dang, I feel bad going up again after you.”

“Don’t be, I like your voice, it’s unique.”

“Flattery gets you nowhere,” Kibum muttered, swaying a little on his feet. He grabbed his microphone and ran through some of the tracks before landing on Wendy’s debut song: _Automatic_. He started by staring intently at the screen. “ _I love the way that you wrap around my heart_ ,” he then sang, and immediately looked over at Jonghyun who watched in complete awe. “ _Filling me up, I didn’t know before. It just comes automatic_.” He turned around to Jonghyun completely and raised a hand to delicately point in his direction.

Jonghyun felt nailed to the spot, his body running hot and cold all at once. His heart thumped in his chest and the world around him began to fill with static, all of his attention directly on the man before him. Kibum dropped his hand down and placed it languidly on his hip, doing a little roll as he continued.

“ _My senses move at the smallest body movements, it comes so natural, it just comes automatic_.”

Behind Kibum, the music video played. Wendy, in artificial blonde hair, lounged around on intricate sofas and danced sophisticatedly in a puffy blouse and tight black trousers, but all Jonghyun could think of was how appealing his date was coming across.

And then, just like that, the trance was broken and Kibum became embarrassed, coming to his senses, and turned back to the TV. He still sang with the same showmanship but his performance had passed and Jonghyun could feel the disappointment settle in his stomach. He liked this side of Kibum a lot.

He only started picking the performing aspect of the song towards the end, as Kibum began to get a little more into the song, following along with Wendy’s movements flawlessly. Jonghyun watched, amazed at how Kibum looked so damn stunning in the tacky and colourful lights that blinked around the room. They bounced off his shiny, well-kept brunet hair. A multi-chromatic halo.

When the song finished Kibum stayed in front of the TV, gripping the microphone. Jonghyun clapped wildly, demanding an encore. His cheers were silenced the moment Kibum immediately made for the door. Jonghyun immediately followed him out of the room and grabbed his wrist.

“Where are you going?” Jonghyun asked. Kibum didn’t dare look back at him for a long moment. He nibbled on his lower lip. “Are you embarrassed?”

“Sorry, I think the alcohol consumed me…”

“Don’t be sorry, I really enjoyed your performance. You’re crazy sexy, Kibum.”

Kibum’s eyes flickered over him for a moment before he looked away again. “You mean that?”

“Hell yeah,” Jonghyun said. “Do you want me to get you a coke? No more beer?”

Kibum nodded slowly. “You don’t mind?”

“Of course I don’t mind,” Jonghyun said with a grin. “Just don’t ditch me whilst I’m down at the bar.”

“I won’t,” Kibum replied, smiling a little more enthusiastically now.

“And pick a song for me to sing when I get back.”

Kibum agreed wordlessly and retreated back to the room as Jonghyun headed down to the bar. He ran a hand through his silvery hair and sighed shakily. He was a little confused, Kibum was a theatre actor - surely he was used to performing before an audience, although, he could admit its nerve wracking when you’re trying to impress just one person. _I guess_ , Jonghyun surmised, _Kibum must be really into me to want to impress me so hard_.

The thought alone brought a smile to Jonghyun’s face.

* * *

Before long their time in the room was over, Jonghyun was three beers in and a little off his feet, whilst Kibum had stuck to coke, and tonic water, to avoid any further embarrassing and impromptu sexy performances.

The two left the karaoke bar, arm in arm, meeting the cold winter air. Kibum, dressed only in a trench coat, shivered involuntarily.

“Do you want my scarf?” Jonghyun offered.

“No, it’s okay, I’m going to go call a taxi. It was nice to see you again, Jonghyun.”

“Actually,” Jonghyun started, stopping Kibum in his tracks. “I was hoping we could grab some food. I’m starting to feel a bit hungry now.”

Kibum eyed him suspiciously before shrugging his shoulders. “I could eat. Do you have anywhere in mind?”

Jonghyun kept his destination a secret until they reached the place where they had first met, right outside the ramen restaurant. Kibum grumbled something under his breath, but he didn’t fight Jonghyun when he led him inside by his wrist.

Jonghyun ordered his usual pork ramen and Kibum settled for a regular bowl of just plain ramen. They sat at the bar, shifting on their wobbly stools.

“Your accent,” Jonghyun began, slurring his words a little. “It’s not from around here.”

Kibum watched Jonghyun for a long second before laughing. “You’re right, I’m from Daegu.”

“Wow,” Jonghyun said, eyes blowing wide. “That’s like… all the way on the other side of the country! Minho’s wife, Irene, she lived in Daegu.”

“Who’s Minho?” Kibum then asked with an amused smirk on his lips.

“He’s my best friend since… I think middle school.”

“You think?”

“I’ve known him for so long,” Jonghyun explained. “I forget.”

Kibum laughed again and it sounded so pretty. “Any other questions you want to ask me?”

Jonghyun pondered for a moment before shaking his head. “You’re pretty when you smile,” he then said after a moment of silence. Kibum’s cheeks turned a pinkish colour and he ducked his head.

“You’re drunk.”

“That’s beside the point,” Jonghyun said, pointing his unbroken chopsticks at him. “You’re very pretty, I like your smile.”

Kibum gave Jonghyun his signature smirk and Jonghyun all but melted in his seat. “God, you’re disgusting. We’re in public,” Kibum admonished with a teasing tone.

“Mmm, where’s my ramen?” Jonghyun asked, attention diverted once more.

“It’s coming. Chill, Jjong.”

Jonghyun immediately turned to Kibum with a surprised expression, mouth agape and eyes wide. “Jjong?”

Kibum’s hand flew to his mouth. “I-“

“Only Key-ssi calls me Jjong,” Jonghyun started, trying to put two and two together, but the alcohol was blurring all of his thoughts together. “You must’ve picked it up from when he called me that, right?”

Kibum visibly deflated and nodded his head. “Th-that’s right.”

“I wonder what Key-ssi is doing right now,” Jonghyun said, staring off into space. Kibum froze beside him. “I hope he’s having a wonderful date or whatever… Whoever that Jino is, I wonder if he’s regretting his mistake.”

“You don’t know him,” Kibum said quietly. “You don’t know Jino…”

Jonghyun blinked at him in confusion. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know him…” He turned silent and only started talking again when their ramen was shoved in front of their faces.

The salty broth hit Kibum straight in the face and he grimaced. He hated overly salty food, but Jonghyun had dug in immediately, slurping up noodles noisily and sloppily. Kibum allowed a small smile on his face and he followed, biting into his own noodles and chewing.

They sat like that, elbows touching as they enjoyed their ramen together in silence and after they finished, Kibum offered to walk Jonghyun to his apartment.

There, Jonghyun waited outside for Kibum to call for a taxi and vowed not to leave until he saw his date off completely.

“This was fun,” Jonghyun said. “Sorry I got a bit tipsy.”

Kibum chuckled behind his hand. “That’s fine, you’re a cute drunk.”

Jonghyun gave him a bashful smile. “So, you said you didn’t kiss on the first date… but how about the second?”

 Kibum pretended to think about it for all of ten seconds before grabbing the material of Jonghyun’s puffy coat and pulling him, their lips pressed together. Jonghyun tangled his fingers in Kibum’s perfect hair, dazed and elated when Kibum pulled away.

“That’s all for now, though,” Kibum said as a taxi pulled up. “You’ll get more later.”

Jonghyun didn’t argue or fight for more and waved Kibum off with a dreamy expression on his face. His phone beeped at him as he walked up to his flat. It was a text message from Minho:

“ _I just got home; want to meet up for coffee tomorrow_?”

Jonghyun couldn’t wait to rub the impending end of his bachelorhood in his friend’s face. A bachelor for life? Laughable.

“I’m a catch,” he muttered to himself, drunkenly.

As soon as he reached his apartment, he collapsed on his sofa and fell asleep right there with the same dreamy smile plastered on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just want to end this fic to say i've started a new story called Your Song's on Replay, it's a high school/band au with tonnes of fluffy cliche so if you're interested in something sickly sweet, check it out.   
> Only three chapters remain of this fic so I hope you've been enjoying thus far :)


	7. Chapter 7

Minho looked as stylish as ever as he sat in the café, drumming his fingers on the table as he waited for Jonghyun. Unbeknownst to him, Jonghyun was stood outside the café, revving up his nerves to tell-all to his best friend. He counted to three, taking deep breaths, before stepping inside. Minho turned to look over his shoulder and his stupidly handsome face lit up with joy.

“Hyung!” Minho announced, standing up in the middle of the crowded café, garnering the attention of all the other patrons. He had his arms wide open to hug Jonghyun, who took one look around the place and shook his head. _Maybe later_. Minho slumped back into his seat, dejected, as Jonghyun took the chair opposite him.

“Have you ordered yet?” Jonghyun asked.

“Not yet, I’ve been waiting for you.”

“You haven’t been waiting long, have you?”

“No, I got here about five minutes ago,” Minho confirmed, looking at his Rolex. “What do you want? My treat.”

“Oh, I’ll just have an Americano,” Jonghyun said and Minho nodded once to affirm he heard the order. Jonghyun watched as his best friend walked over to the barista, the young girl behind it immediately becoming flustered by Minho’s handsome face and bright smile. Jonghyun used to be jealous of Minho’s good looks and how he attracted all the cute girls at school. It wasn’t until the end of high school that he realised he wasn’t jealous of Minho for having the girls’ attention, but rather jealous of Minho’s attention being taken away.

It had been the first step in a long sequence of Jonghyun discovering his sexuality.

Minho returned about five minutes later with an Americano in one hand and an espresso in the other. Jonghyun immediately gagged at the strong smell and Minho offered him a guilty smile. “Sorry, I got addicted to these in France, but, I don’t think they’re nearly as nice here.”

“Imagine what the Italian ones taste like,” Jonghyun said, sipping his own coffee. “So, how’s Irene?”

“Tired. Nauseous. Hungry. All the pregnant things.”

“I can’t believe you’re going to be a father… It feels so weird.”

Minho laughed awkwardly. “I feel the same sometimes. I look at myself in the mirror and I think: where did my sixteen year old self go?” He scratched at his cheek. “How’s the radio show going?”

“Well. It’s going well. We had Taemin on a while ago.”

“Oh, I heard about that. Irene watched it on her laptop in between running presentations. She commented on how Taemin was flirting with you the whole time. I told her to stop being ridiculous.”

Jonghyun shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Well…”

Minho’s impossibly wide eyes got wider and his mouth hung open in shock. “You’re kidding? He was flirting with you?” Minho lowered his voice to a hush, looking around to make sure people weren’t eavesdropping.

“Like crazy. There was one point where he blocked his mouth like this-“ He curved his left hand around his mouth. “-from the camera and mouthed the words ‘I want you’ to me.”

“That’s insane. What did you do?”

“What else could I do? I tried my best to ignore it, but he’s very pretty and I was very single at that point.”

Minho chuckled. “Wait… _Was_ very single?”

Jonghyun grinned triumphantly. “You’re looking at someone who has been on two successful dates over the past couple of weeks.”

“Wow, I guess you’ve graduated from the school of bachelorhood then,” Minho joked. “What’s his name?”

“His name is Kibum and he’s a friend of Jinki’s. He hooked us up.”

Minho whistled in surprise. “You let Jinki hook you up even after the Jaejoon thing?”

Jonghyun laughed. “Well, I was roped in by a bet.”

“Oh, hyung… you went on a date with Kibum as a bet? That’s low.”

Jonghyun hadn’t realised the implications surrounding his excellent first date and now that Minho was looking at him disapprovingly it soon caught up. “… It is isn’t it…? Should I tell him?”

“Maybe… I don’t know. If he finds out, he might be a bit disappointed though.”

“Shit, you’re right… I’ll come clean and tell him that our first date was a bet on Jinki-hyung’s behalf. Hopefully it’ll go down well. He’ll forgive me, right?”

Minho shrugged his shoulders and took another sip of his espresso. “So, have you and Kibum kissed?”

The worry that had worked its way onto Jonghyun’s face melted in a telling smile. “Maybe…”

“Oh, hyung, come on. I’m excited for you! I want you to be happy! Honestly, Irene and I were worried you’d be single forever.”

“Come on, I’m not that bad,” Jonghyun scoffed. “I’m attractive.”

“You also work nights and study during the day. You have a very quiet social life-“

“Alright, I get the picture, I’m not what every guy is looking for but Kibum likes me and that’s all that matters.”

“Taemin seems to think you’re his dream guy.”

“He’s a horny little brat, he just needs to get laid,” Jonghyun said. “He’ll forget about me soon enough.”

Minho only laughed and shook his head. The two finished their coffees, catching up on old times and new arrivals in that quaint little café.

* * *

“Jinki, did you tell Kibum that our date was a bet?” Jonghyun asked his friend the moment he walked into work that night.

“Um, no, I don’t think so,” Jinki replied, scrunching his nose up in thought. “Why?”

Jonghyun sighed. “Great, so I have to tell him.”

“Ah, it’s going to sound bad, isn’t it?”

Jonghyun shot Jinki an incredulous look. “You think? Hey, Kibum, I know we’re having a great time but I just want to tell you that I only went on that first date with you because of a bet.”

“Oh, when you put it like that, it does sound bad,” Jinki mumbled, biting his lower lip. “He’s going to be pissed too, especially since you’re his first date since his boyfriend cheated on him just before Christmas.”

Jonghyun watched Jinki for a long time, processing the information. That story sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t remember where from. “Oh, hyung, why did you do this to me? Why did I have to like Kibum?” Jonghyun whined, leaning on his friend with a pitiful look in his eyes.

“It might not be too bad, he’ll just be angry for a while but maybe if you show you’re genuine now, he’ll come around. He comes across as stubborn but he’s really warm and forgiving.” Jinki paused for a minute. “You like Kibum?”

“Of course I do, dummy, I would keep going out with him otherwise.” And then it dawned on Jonghyun as to what he had just confessed. Jinki was grinning down at him. “Oh, shut up.”

“Does this make up for the Jaejoon thing?”

“Not if you keep bringing it up, hyung,” Jonghyun shot back.

“Jinki, you’re needed in the studio,” Joy said, poking her head into the staffroom before disappearing again.

“Did she dye her hair again?” Jonghyun asked as Jinki walked away.

“When is she not dying her hair?” Jinki simply replied before walking out of the staffroom, leaving Jonghyun alone. The DJ pulled his phone out of his back pocket and opened up the messages he’d been sending to and from Kibum.

“ _Hey, Kibum, are you free to talk later on_?”

A reply was immediately sent.

“ _Sure, you finish around 2, right? I’ll be at your apartment_.”

A knot began to twist in his stomach, and it only worsened when Kibum sent another text message.

“ _Is it bad_?”

Jonghyun didn’t quite know how to react and simply sent Kibum a smiley emoji and switched his phone off completely. A cold chill washed over him and Jonghyun wondered if his sudden graduation from bachelorhood would be revoked the moment Kibum discovered what had happened.

Jonghyun felt physically sick, not for what he had done, but for the inevitability of hurting Kibum’s feelings. He really liked Kibum, and he really hoped that would be enough to keep this thing going.

But he knew that sometimes things like this just don’t work out.

* * *

Jonghyun, once again, seemed distracted on air. He messed up Wendy’s name twice when announcing her new song, _Ice Cream Cake_ , and then he accidentally played Taemin’s _Wicked_ instead of Taeyeon’s _I_.

However, not to Jonghyun’s relief, the hours passed by and he was free of his commitment. Seulgi didn’t say a word about Jonghyun’s distraction. She did, however, give him a look that read ‘ _do that again and you are dead to me’_ as he passed her. Jonghyun almost wanted to tell her not to worry because he was sure after tonight, he’d be dead anyway. Kibum was going to kill him, he was sure.

The trip home felt heavy on Jonghyun’s shoulders and he dragged his feet along the pavement towards his apartments. He noticed a shadowed figure standing outside, dressed in a familiar trench coat.

“Hyung!” Kibum said, waving jovially despite it being nearly 3am. Jonghyun forced himself to smile and wave back despite the torrent of nausea and guilt that tormented his insides. Kibum looked exhausted despite the flawless make-up that masked his face. He must’ve come back from rehearsals. “Is something wrong? You didn’t respond to any of my other messages.”

Jonghyun had completely forgotten to turn his phone back on. “Sorry, I turned my phone off when I went on air.”

“Ah, okay.” The two stood awkwardly in the cold, illuminated under the dim yellow streetlight. “Shall we go in?”

“Actually, I think it’s best we just talk out here. I doubt you’ll want to stay after I say what I’m about to tell you.”

“Hyung, what’s going on? You’re frightening me.” Behind that make-up Jonghyun could see the blood visibly drain from Kibum’s face, his eyebrows knitted together in a frown.

“Our first date… When Jinki set us up… He only did it because we made a bet on it.”

There, it was out in the open and now Kibum knew.

“Oh. So. You didn’t want to go out with me at all?” Kibum said. His voice sounded hollow and void of expression. His face, however, told all. His eyes were shining with tears. “I’m confused… Do you like me at all or are you just dating me out of pity?”

“No! I like you, Kibum! I had a crazy good time on that date-“

“Hmm,” Kibum cut him off. He didn’t seem to believe Jonghyun. “I… God, I’m so embarrassed. I danced for you and everything, Jonghyun.”

“I know, Kibum, and I’m so sorry, but my feelings for you are genuine. I really like you. You’re all I think about.”

Kibum stared off into the distance, trying to think of the next thing to say. A loud ringtone then sounded from his coat pocket and he rolled his eyes, sighing in exasperation. He pulled his phone out and scoffed at the name on the screen.

Jonghyun caught a glimpse of the name and his blood froze. _Jino_.

“God, I wish he would leave me alone,” Kibum muttered.

“W-who is that?”

Kibum stared at Jonghyun for a long second before realising that Jonghyun was starting to piece two and two together, and this time there was no alcohol to fog his brain. “My… ex.”

“Your ex is Jino?”

Kibum sighed. “Yes. I’m Key-ssi.”

Jonghyun felt as if his world had been tipped over. Key-ssi, his cute caller had ended up being Kibum, his dazzling date. He felt more confused than he had ever felt before. “I’m so lost… So… What? Did you just keep calling up my show to make fun of me for not guessing you and Key were the same person or?”

“No! I just wanted to hear your honest advice because I was worried after our first date that I’d put you off…” Kibum sniffed. “I hadn’t thought it was because you were conflicted because of a stupid bet.”

“Kibum I-“

“God, I’m so mad at you. You never wanted to date me at all, did you? I bet you’re just trying to make that stupid twink Taemin jealous.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Do you think I’m an idiot? Do you think I’m blind and deaf? I can see how you two acted on that live show, and how you responded when he called you. You like him, don’t you?”

“You’re crazy. You’re upset and you’re being unreasonable.”

Kibum rolled his eyes. “Unreasonable? Here’s unreasonable: don’t call me anymore.”

“Fine!” Jonghyun shouted back, caught up in the moment. It wasn’t until he watched Kibum’s retreating back that he realised what he had done. “Oh, my God… I’m such an idiot,” he said to himself, falling to his knees. Everything that had just unfolded caught up to him completely and he allowed himself to cry under the dimly lit streetlight.


	8. Chapter 8

Jonghyun spent the next morning moping around his apartment, not changing out of his pyjamas. He wanted to call in sick to work but he knew Seulgi would personally come to his apartment and drag him to the studio if he wasn’t sick enough to be in a hospital.  He didn’t want to face the studio, his audience, with the heavy burden of hurting Kibum’s feelings weighing on his heart. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to convey a genuine enthusiasm like he always does.

However, despite every nerve telling him no, he still walked across that threshold into the studio and made his way directly to the staffroom. Jinki was in there, as usual, making a coffee for himself and Yunho.

“Jonghyun-ah,” Jinki said softly with a pitiful look in his eyes. Jonghyun stared at him for a long moment before breaking down into tears again. He slumped onto the sofa. “Oh, Jonghyun, I’m so sorry. Kibum told me everything.”

“He did?”

“He yelled at me too, telling me he was not a sorry charity case just because his ex was a jerk.” Jinki made his way over to Jonghyun and handed him Yunho’s coffee. Jonghyun took it without thanks. “This is all my fault, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not just yours… I played a part by agreeing.”

Jinki sniffed his coffee for a moment. “Realistically, it’s Taemin’s for not saying what we all think.”

Jonghyun made a sound that sounded vaguely like a laugh but it was too faint to tell. “Well, he told me not to call him anymore so…”

“He’ll come back around, Jonghyun. He really likes you, too. He just needs some time.”

Jonghyun pondered for a long moment. “We still have a week until Valentine’s day, right?”

“Yes?” Jinki responded, unsure where this was going. He watched Jonghyun with wary eyes.

“I’m going to write Kibum a poem and read it on air for him.”

“Jonghyun…”

“No, you can’t stop me now, hyung! I’m going to show Kibum that I’m serious about liking him.” Jonghyun stood up immediately. He handed the mug back to Jinki, coffee untouched. “Your coffee always tastes like tar.”

“Oi!”

Jonghyun was untouchable as he bounded out of the staffroom. Yunho popped his head around the corner as he left. “Is that my coffee?” He asked, staring at the other mug in Jinki’s hand.

* * *

Jonghyun was jittery the whole time he was on air. He was half-hoping that Key-ssi would make his regular call but so far it seemed that his show was going to be Key-less. He did everything flawlessly, played each song perfectly, adding his opinion and thoughts onto each segment. He even spoke about the weather and how inspiring it was to see the sun setting later and later each day as spring began to grow closer.

“Although, I’ll admit, I do prefer winter,” he had said.

Listeners continued to chime in; asking for advice about school and Valentine’s Day and Jonghyun answered each query with finesse. Seulgi was mightily impressed towards the end of the show.

“What’s happened to Jonghyun?” She asked.

“Dunno, maybe he finally got laid,” Joy replied, crudely.

Near the end of the show, Jonghyun made a small, unscripted announcement.

“I’ve decided to add a twist to this show for Valentine’s Day,” he said. “When we held our last show of the year we had our holiday messages, but for this holiday, I’ve decided to take anonymous love confessions from our listeners. So, if you’re having a hard time confessing to that special someone, just write in and I shall do all the work for you.” Messages chimed through the chat room. “Yes, I’m being serious,” Jonghyun laughed airily. “I know it’s a change from my usual bitter disposition but since our holiday messages were vaguely successful, why not try again? Anyway, to end this show I shall play Wendy’s new single, _Ice Cream Cake_. Please join me again tomorrow under this blue night. I’m Jonghyun, goodnight.”

As the song began to play Jonghyun stretched in his seat, not daring to look over at Seulgi who must’ve been seething from his impromptu confession. However, when the song finished and Jonghyun finally had the nerve to look at his boss, she had the biggest smile on her face.

“I’m really impressed with your idea, Jonghyun,” she said when the ON AIR light began to dim. “That’s a lovely suggestion. I don’t think we’ll have time to do it to its fullness though…”

“That’s fine, as long as I get to do mine.”

“Yes, I should imagine we’ll – wait, what? Do _yours_?”

Jonghyun gave the PD a secretive grin. “It’s a surprise, PD.”

“Jonghyun, you need to tell me what you’re planning, the show won’t run smoothly if you don’t!”

Jonghyun offered no resolution and began to make his way out of the studio, for once the first to leave. As he left, he could still hear Seulgi yelling his name.

* * *

The next couple of days, Jonghyun intermitted his time between classes and work with writing his plan-perfect poem for Kibum. This was often the early morning as soon as he came home from work and before he had class.

He’d written at least ten different renditions of what he wanted to say but nothing seemed perfect. Nothing suited the image that Kibum had imprinted on his heart. It was so tempting to just text Kibum and try and make amends, but he was resilient.

On the third night, Jonghyun was still cooped up in his study, lamenting over an empty page, when his phone went off.

“Hello?” He said.

“Jonghyun, you’re still up. Surprising,” Jinki said on the other line.

“What about you? You’re still up too, hyung.”

Jinki laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. I can’t seem to sleep these days. Anyway, I’m calling because Kibum’s new show opens this weekend and I managed to get us a couple of tickets.”

“Us?”

“Well, yes, you and me. You don’t want to go?”

“Of course I do, hyung,” Jonghyun sighed. He leaned back on his office chair and stared out of the window. He could see the sliver of dawn breaking over the horizon, the tell-tale frosted purple and pink. “But, I don’t think Kibum will want me there.”

“He doesn’t need to know. He’s been working so hard; don’t you want to support him too?”

“It’s just not ideal, hyung.”

“Life isn’t ideal,” Jinki said. “Come with me, I’ll hide you.”

The offer was tempting and taking a break from his monotonous routine would be well appreciated but it smelled like a recipe for disaster. “Alright,” he finally said. “I’ll go. But! If I get caught, I’m blaming you.”

“That’s fine,” Jinki said. “It is my idea after all.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Jonghyun dropped his phone back on his desk and rubbed his eyes. He then took a second to stare at the empty sheet of paper before giving up and retreating into his bedroom, falling asleep dressed in the clothes he’d worn over the day.

* * *

The day of Kibum’s opening show came around quicker than Jonghyun had anticipated. He was stood in the queue with Jinki, scratching at the black wig he’d been forced to wear by his hyung. His glasses then came askew and he sighed as he fixed them.

“There’s no way he’ll notice you like that,” Jinki reassured his friend as the line began to move, tickets being taken and scanned.

“It doesn’t stop it from being uncomfortable,” Jonghyun argued, scratching at his head once more and then re-fixing his glasses, again.

“Stop scratching your head, you look suspicious,” Jinki said, swatting his hand away from his wig.

“Make this stop itching then,” Jonghyun retorted, dropping his hands to his side and trying to fight against the uncontrollable urge to rip the hair piece off and run his hands through his natural hair.

Soon they made it to the front of the queue and were quickly ushered in. Jinki had scored seats close to the back, away from Kibum’s relative perspective, but close enough for the two to get a good look at the stage.

“Wow, this is a fancy theatre,” Jonghyun muttered as they took their seats. The chairs were covered in plush velvet and were heavily inspired by European opera houses from the intricate carvings in the gold painted wood.

Jinki didn’t saying anything and sat still, waiting for the show to open. After an hour of entry, the curtains on the stage pulled up and there stood Kibum. His own hair was a jet black and his skin pale from the make-up plastered to his face. He was skinnier than Jonghyun recalled and he hoped that Kibum had been remembering to eat in between rehearsals.

His co-star, Dana, was equally as good, very captivating as Kibum’s love interest. Their chemistry was good and Jonghyun felt a knot of envy twist in his stomach. He gripped the armrests of his chair tightly as the two shared a kiss on stage and he continued to fidget with every continued scene. The more they kissed, the dizzier Jonghyun felt – he remembered what those lips felt against his own and he so desperately wanted to feel it again.

After what seemed like forever, the show had finished and all the cast came out to take a bow to the audience. Jinki stood up; applauding his friend vigorously and he nudged Jonghyun with his foot to do the same. Unwillingly, Jonghyun stood up and clapped, eyes focused on Kibum. When the actor finally straightened himself, his piercing brown eyes met his for a second and Jonghyun swore he saw a flash of recognition in them. However, as soon as their eyes had met, Kibum tore his away to look towards the other areas of the theatres.

“Come on, let’s go,” Jinki whispered as he pulled Jonghyun up and out when the stage was finally empty. Jonghyun had stayed seated after he had his moment with Kibum.

“Is it hopeless, hyung?” He asked.

“No, nothing is hopeless,” Jinki said, wrapping his arm around Jonghyun’s shoulders. “Sometimes, it just takes a few bumps before a smooth run can be had.”

“Where do you get your words of wisdom from, hyung?” Jonghyun asked, incredulously.

Jinki only laughed in response.

* * *

That night Jonghyun discovered that despite seeing Kibum’s face for the first time in a while he was still at a loss of words to write. The empty sheet of paper stared at him tauntingly, daring him to try and he felt utterly useless.

“Maybe I should just quit college,” he mused as he rocked back and forth on his office chair. He tried to think of what he would say to Kibum’s face if they had been alone in that theatre. “ _Give me a chance, tell me what you want, be honest, tell me_.”

Then, as if struck by a bolt of inspiration, Jonghyun was scribbling down nothing and everything all at once. None of it made sense immediately but as he went back and revised what he’d written he crossed out lines he didn’t like and underlined the ones he loved.

“ _There’s a universe_ ,” Jonghyun muttered aloud. “ _There’s a universe in your eyes_.”

He managed to finish the poem within a few hours and stared proudly at his masterpiece, but he found that reading out did little justice to the rhythm. Stuck once more, Jonghyun leaned back and stared out of his window. The moonlight poured in, painting his grey carpet with silver dust and from the corner of his eye, he spotted his old guitar, spotlighted in white.

“Wait,” he said to himself. “Maybe a poem isn’t what it should be…”

He stood up and grabbed the guitar and strummed the dusty, old strings. It was out of tune, no surprise there, but worked just fine. Jonghyun spent the next half an hour tuning the guitar to perfection and played a few old notes he remembered from his class back at school.

He then looked at the poem he’d written and played a few lines. His once screwed up frown of agitation melted into a relieved face.

“Hallelujah,” he whispered to the moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to give a quick thank you to everyone who has been giving me nice comments, and kudos for this fic. It really means a lot to me, and to know that you're all using this fic for the same reasons I am makes me feel better. I'm thankful to every single one of you who reads, comments, and leaves kudos (not in that specific order ofc). 
> 
> As this is the second to last chapter, I'm going to be shameless and self-plug my other story: "Your Song's on Replay". Which is a high school band fic with a bit of a twist on the typical jongkey coming of age plot, so if you're interested please check it out and tell me what you think :)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who stuck around and read this from the start, and thank you to everyone who has commented and kudos, and thank you to every single new reader <3
> 
> the lyrics from the previous chapter and this one are from Jonghyun's Orbit from the album: She Is.

Valentine’s Day arrived quicker than Jonghyun would’ve hoped, having spent most of his free time perfecting every line and chord for his song. In about twelve hours he would be showcasing his first creation to the nation and anyone listening would hear how much of an amateur he was. Though, he hoped that Kibum would appreciate the effort if he still listened to the show.

“What’s that, oppa?” A young voice asked from behind Jonghyun. He’d been sitting in the lecture hall, scribbling in the margin of his poetry-song writing book waiting for lessons to begin. He turned around and found Yeri staring at him with wide, inquisitive eyes.

“Oh, this?” He asked, pointing at his song. “Nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing to me,” Yeri said, taking her usual seat beside Jonghyun. “Have you been writing songs?”

“ _A_ song,” Jonghyun corrected his young friend. “And yes, I have.”

Yeri hummed under her breath as she quickly scanned over the lines. Jonghyun tried his best to cover his work up, but it was to no avail, Yeri was the quickest reader in the class. “Wow, are you in love with this person?”

“What?” Jonghyun choked out. “No! I mean… I like them and there’s a possibility I may fall in love with them in the future but-“

Yeri rested her chin in her palm and hummed again. “Your song has a lot of feeling, oppa.” She popped her p’s arrogantly before smiling sweetly. “I’m sure whoever you wrote it for will appreciate it.”

“I hope so,” Jonghyun muttered, otherwise his effort would be all for nothing.

“Oppa, are you playing that song tonight on the radio?”

Jonghyun glanced at Yeri and nodded slowly. For a kid, she was definitely perceptive, but then he supposed most young adults were like that anyway. “Do you think it’s good enough?”

“Well, I don’t know the tune but the lyrics seem nice. Sing me the tune.”

“No.”

“Oppa!” Yeri whined. “Fine, I’ll just go by the lyrics. It sounds like a really sensual song from what you’ve written. I can’t wait to hear you sing it. Live. In front of thousands of people.”

If Jonghyun didn’t feel nervous before, he was definitely ready to vomit now.

* * *

Time continued to count down and Jonghyun sat at the mic with his beloved guitar sat neatly under the desk, ready and waiting. Seulgi was running through the procedure, having been informed that Jonghyun planned to sing a song halfway through the show. She had been less than impressed by the impromptu decision but added it in with ease, as was her style.

Joy had hung around Jonghyun since his arrival after she had gotten wind of his plan from overhearing a conversation between Jinki and Yunho. She stared at him with a mischievous smile on her face.

“Oppa,” she said. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

Jonghyun stared at Joy for a long moment before noticing that her hair had changed colour again. No longer was it the yellow blonde it had been before, but now it was a carmine red, eye popping against her green eyeliner (“It’s the style, Seulgi-unnie!”) “Have you dyed your hair again?”

“Oppa, you’re avoiding the question,” Joy teased, pushing Jonghyun’s shoulder gently. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No,” Jonghyun replied honestly. He didn’t have a boyfriend either, so why did it matter?

Joy seemed perplexed. “But you wrote a love song.”

“Yes.” He looked down at the song he composed in one night.

“But you don’t have a girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

Joy seemed to trail off in thought after that before leaning down, giving full few of her ample chest down her blouse. “Do you want one?”

“No,” Jonghyun replied without even looking up from his lyrics.

Joy huffed in annoyance and walked away. Seulgi had been watching her with a bemused expression, and made a note to talk to her about annoying Jonghyun over trivial matters. “He’s clearly lying,” Joy said to herself as she sat in the sound booth.

“Who?” Jinki asked.

“Jonghyun-oppa! He said he doesn’t have a girlfriend but he wrote a love song!” She then gasped. “Unless!”

Jinki paused, watching the redhead carefully. “Unless?”

“Unless he’s planning on asking a girl out with that song! Oh, he’s a genius! I’d say yes to that in a heartbeat!”

Jinki sighed in relief. “Well, if that’s his plan, I hope it goes well,” he said mechanically.

Seulgi continued running through the program with Jonghyun before giving him the countdown. 3, 2, 1.

“Hello and welcome to Blue Night, thank you for sharing this space with me today. My name is Jonghyun, as you may know. Let’s talk about the beautiful day that is today. Today many girls will be giving presents to their loved ones, be it a special someone or just their friends. Today is all about spreading the love, so let’s rejoice in the warm feeling that fills us up completely, even on cold winter days. To start I’d like to play a B-side from Wendy’s new EP. This one is called _Stupid Cupid_. Cupid is the mascot for Valentine’s Day in the western world and is often depicted as a baby wearing a diaper and carrying a bow and heart-shaped arrows – isn’t that funny? Here it is: _Stupid Cupid_.”

As the song played, he watched the comments flow in. One in particular stood out.

 **Kimyerim99** : _Jonghyun-oppa! I look forward to your Valentine’s segment. Fighting!_

He smiled to himself, watching as the comment disappeared amongst many others. He wondered if Yeri was listening to the show whilst she studied, or perhaps she used the show to unwind before sleeping. He then smiled at the small box of chocolates sat near the stand for his mic. She had given him them after class as a thank you for being such a good friend to her when she transferred in. Jonghyun had accepted them with a gracious smile and a ruffle of her short ash-brown hair.

As the song came to a close, Jonghyun took a deep breath.

“I love Wendy’s voice, don’t you? She’s so talented. I’ve heard her live before and I can assure you her live voice is just as good as the one you hear on CD…” He paused for a moment, licking his lips, thinking of how to go about this. “Everyone, as today is a special day, I have planned something a little unusual. A lot of you won’t know this but I actually write poetry in my spare time and over the past few days I’d been thinking over something I could dedicate to this segment.”

He leaned down and grabbed his guitar, settling it between his legs.

“A few days ago I also hurt the feelings of someone who meant a lot to me. So, if they’re listening, I’m dedicating this song to you, if you’d give me the chance.”

Another deep breath and Jonghyun lifted his guitar up. He saw the chat begin to blow up with tittering questions from listeners and closed his eyes as he tapped the wooden body with his fingers, counting in his head. He then strummed the strings gently and got as close to the pop filter as he could.

“ _Your twinkling eyes, they surprise me. Your playful lips put on a smile as if you want to show me. My eyes go to you again. “A guy like you? Go away.” Your eyes that say that have a special depth_ ,” he sung sweetly into the microphone. All of the machines that usually buzzed around him, whirring with electric life, had hushed to hear him sing. It felt as if the world had stopped just to hear the lyrics come out of his mouth, the tune plucked from his guitar strings.

He continued singing; getting caught into the tune he created. “ _There’s a universe. There’s a universe filled in your eyes. The moment our eyes electrically meet, the tip of my ears felt a zap, the stars have twinkled. Sometimes, my eyes rolled back. Please look back at me often, check to see if I’m revolving around you. To see if this orbit is right._ ”

He finished off with a few _ooh_ ’s and an improvised _baby_ at the end. Once his singing had stopped and he strummed his guitar once last time, he felt a roar in his ears. He put his guitar as easily as he could with shaky hands and turned back to the mic. The comments had blown up; all commenting on Jonghyun’s hidden singing talent.

 **Kimyerim99** : _Oppa! You could be an idol with that voice!_

“How did you all enjoy that? I hope the person I dedicated that to will take my message and understand that whilst what I did was wrong, everything I felt towards them was genuine. I want to try again, if you’d let me.”

He then continued onto the show as normal, playing a few more songs and taking some anonymous callers who confessed their love live on radio. One girl even called in to confess to Jonghyun himself which he found embarrassing more than flattering but took it all in stride.

Before he realised it, the two hours flew by and he was saying his final goodbyes to the show before ending for the day. He watched as the ON AIR light dimmed once more and his crew jumped out of the sound booth running to him with elated smiles on their faces.

“I had no idea you could sing like that, Jonghyun!” Seulgi said.

“Your voice is crazy hot!” Joy complimented, batting her eyelashes at him.

Jinki squeezed Jonghyun’s upper arm and they shared a knowing smile between them.

“Damn, if I had a voice like that I would not be in this business,” Yunho commented. Seulgi turned to look at the senior engineer. “What? I’m just being honest…”

“That gives me an idea,” Seulgi then said, trailing off as she scribbled down a few notes on her clipboard.

Despite his best efforts, the gnawing feeling in Jonghyun’s insides did not go away. He wondered if Kibum even bothered to listen to the radio show. As he took the night train home, he pondered if Kibum even _had time_ to listen to his radio show now he was a big theatre star.

He dragged his feet along the path towards his apartment. No response on his phone from Kibum, no text messages or even a missed call. He was starting to believe his efforts had been for nothing, until he looked up and saw a familiar figure stood in the entry way of his apartment, dressed in that unmistakable trench coat.

He walked a little faster, certain his eyes were playing tricks on him, but as soon as he got close enough he could make out Kibum’s features. His cheeks were streaked red and he appeared to sniffling.

“Kibum?”

“Oh, Jonghyun!” Kibum exclaimed, startled. He wiped away the remains of his tears with the back of his hand. “Sorry, I… I was listening to your show and that song you played…”

“Did you like it?”

Kibum nodded, trying hard not to cry. “You have a way with words, you amaze me. Did you really dedicate that song to me?”

“Yeah, of course,” Jonghyun said, shrugging his shoulders awkwardly. “I wanted to make it up to you.”

Kibum laughed despite his tears. “Well, I forgive you. I wanted to thank you as well, for coming to my opening night. That was really nice of you.”

“So you did notice me, huh?” Jonghyun said, leaning up against the wall.

“I know your face quite well, I’ve stared at it often enough.”

Jonghyun slipped, catching himself before he hit the ground. “Do you want to come in?”

Kibum shook his head. “No, not tonight. I came here with a proposition. Today, how about we start afresh.”

“What do you mean?” Jonghyun asked, quizzically.

“Hi, my name’s Kibum,” Kibum then said, holding out his hand for Jonghyun to take. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Jonghyun stared down at Kibum’s hand for a long second before it caught up to him what Kibum wanted. He took his hand and shook it firmly. “Hi Kibum, my name’s Jonghyun. It’s nice to meet you too.”

“There’s a 24 hour bubble tea café near that new ramen place not too far from here. Do you want to go and grab a drink, get to know each other a bit better?” Kibum asked, his lips curling into a flirty smirk.

Jonghyun grinned wolfishly. “Sure, that sounds really good.”

The two turned away from Jonghyun’s apartment and made their way down to the nightlife hub. As they turned the corner, snow began to fall from the sky.

“No way,” Kibum muttered. “It’s friggin’ February!”

Jonghyun smiled and looked up, watching the silver flakes descend from the heavens. It felt like a sign. “It’s an anomaly.”

“Sure, whatever,” Kibum joked. “It’s cold, let’s go.” He pulled on Jonghyun’s arm, the façade of being strangers falling away as Jonghyun looked away from the sky to Kibum’s face. He looked so pretty, right there, illuminated in the street lights and the neon glow of restaurant signs. He leaned in carefully and kissed a snowflake away from Kibum’s cheek, catching him off guard. “Wh-“

“Come on!” Jonghyun then teased, pulling a dumbfounded Kibum towards the bubble tea café, with a playful grin on his lips. Kibum’s face melted, just like the snow as it hit the ground beneath them, and he relaxed into a warm smile. It felt like everything was going to work out just fine.


End file.
